Asylum
By: Darker Evolutions
Rating: R
Warnings: The rating should be warning enough.Disclaimer: I do not own Beyblade or any of its characters.A/N: It has taken me a lot longer than expected to get another chapter up, but school has been hoarding me with work to keep me busy, that and my stepfather's father was in the hospital for several weeks and he sent me to baby sit the senile man. However I look forward to getting together a schedule for updating regularly, and with Spring Break being this week I hope to get at least two or three chapters done on this story, making posting up a new one I've been working on slowly and with stumbling efforts. Thank you all for your support, and even more thanks to those who have stuck with me despite my long pauses between posting chapters.
Summary: Kai, Tala, Ray, and Bryan are members of the Saint Carolin's High School soccer team with a new student placed as their manager. They're also mutants in which the underground organization Biovolt are after. Will they get at each other's throats before they get a chance to find asylum?
Chapter Seven – Healing and Comfort
Hours had passed, and choosing to leave the abandoned warehouse had been the teen's best bet at staying alive themselves and getting Declan to Judy more quickly. When other mutants had been sent to investigate the area they found it lacking of the four fallen men that worked for Biovolt. If they were still alive, then the teens were still in danger, and even more so now that they had gotten away from the four.
Judy had promptly taken Declan to the extra room in her home, placing him upon the bed that lay stripped of everything but comforting light blue sheets that reminded everyone that they weren't in a hospital, and that they were safe. The other three had been ordered to sit out in the living room where Mr. Tate served them a warm dinner, though hardly any of it was eaten despite the protests the from older man.
Sitting stiffly in one of the plush chairs of the living room Tala stared at the wall across from him, icy blue eyes dull and showing deep thought and hurt. Ray sat next to Kai on a couch not too far away, hands in his lap and worn, tear irritated eyes watching the floor as if it were the most interesting thing in to world. Kai sat in no better shape, elbows resting upon his knees as he cradled his head in his hands, crimson eyes closed to the world. They all were berating themselves with what-if's, insisting that if something had different that they wouldn't be in this predicament.
Even as another hour passed Judy still didn't exit from the room, and inside the closed door where she wouldn't be bothered the healer was still taking her time to carefully heal all physical injuries that Declan had received. Broken bones were always the worst to heal, and with much concentration she was finally getting somewhere. Her hands were poised over the male's head and emitting a gentle glow of comforting whites and greens. Already she was feeling drastically drained of her own energy, feeling fatigued and nauseated, yet still she pursued her goal of fully healing Declan's injuries to the best of her ability.
Her energy coursed through his body, seeking out anything which was not correct and pausing there to knit flesh, muscles, nerves, and tendons back together over healed bones. The teen was still unconscious, showing no signs of waking anytime soon, and Judy felt he would sleep for days if it was given to him with how drained of a feeling she was getting from him. She herself was going to be in need of a good rest when the healing of all four was over.
Minutes ticked by, soon turning into several more hours as the time crept past two thirty in the morning. The sun was already fully set, a dull light and the glowing healing energy that Judy was giving off being the only things that lit the room. Yet soon the glowing died off, leaving the room faintly lit and deeply shadowed. Judy dropped her hands to her side, blue eyes looking extremely worn and tired, beads of perspiration dotting her brow. She was satisfied that Declan would be fine physically, and with a long period of rest and a good support system he'd be fine psychologically as well.
Exiting the room quietly Mrs. Tate closed the door behind her, keeping out any unnecessary light that could cause the sleeping one inside to possibly wake. The hallway passed the kitchen first, and inside she found her husband sitting there quietly reading a book with a cup of freshly brewed coffee in front of him. He didn't even look up from his book, yet smiled gently and spoke to his wife as she took up the mug and took a long sip from its hot contents.
"I'll put the two air mattresses in the room so the others can stay, I doubt they'll be wanting to leave their friend's side anytime soon. They're still awake in the living room." Now looking up Mr. Tate folded down the corner of the page of was on and closed the book, putting it down upon the table's top as he rose from his seat to embrace his wife comfortingly. "Don't drain yourself too much, Judy. You know I worry about you." With that he placed a kiss upon his wife's temple before moving off to find the air mattresses and put them in the spare room where Declan slept soundly.
Smiling at the kiss and the settling yet concerned words spoken Judy took another long drink of the coffee before placing it down upon the table where she had picked it up from. With a sigh she readied herself to face the other three teens, grateful that Max was over at Tyson's so that she wouldn't have to deal with another grief stricken boy all in the same night. Deciding that she was as ready as she would ever be Judy stepped out of the kitchen moving down the hallway and into the living room where she found all three boys sitting morbidly still and silent. It took but moments for her presence to be known, and she gave a slow smile to Ray, who was the first to meet her eyes.
"I'm pleased to let the three of you know you have gotten him here in time. Declan is completely healed, yet will still be sore from the broken bones I had to heal first before anything else. You're all welcome to stay the night here with him, and I'll call your parents in the morning to explain to them what has happened and why you're here. Now… are any of you seriously hurt?" Judy's blue eyes looked over the three in question slowly, noticing that they were mostly just bruised and scratched, though the blood they were covered in wasn't their own, but Declan's.
"No, we're all fine Mrs. Tate. Thank you for your offer, but we wouldn't want to intrude upon your home more than we already have. We just wanted to make sure that Declan was going to be okay after what happened… He took more of the hits than we did." It was Kai who spoke, calm and collective his appearance though his eyes told differently. He was concerned, more about the others than himself, and he didn't know what to do.
"Nonsense. I insist that you three stay so that I can check up on all of you after school in over tomorrow, in which I am still attending to so that no one else hears about this. We don't need people at school figuring out what's going on and who the mutants are…That would be disastrous." With a tired sigh Judy made a gesture down the hall. "My husband is putting two air mattresses down for you, and I'll get some clean clothes for the three of you to wear so that you don't have to sleep in those bloody ones. Now come along, we all need some rest, and I better not see any of you at school tomorrow. Understood."
All three gave a nod, and rising stiffly from their seats were following behind Judy. She opened the door for them, allowing them to shuffle inside quietly and uneasily. Despite the fact Declan was healed he still looked pale from blood loss, his sleeping form looking to be uncomfortable and pained with the way he had curled up on his side in his sleep.
Ray was the first to come to the bed's edge, golden eyes shimmering with unshed tears. A strong hand settled upon his shoulder, giving a light squeeze as Ray turned back to look at the owner of it, Kai. Tala was the only one who avoided looking at the sleeping teen, choosing to keep close to the door with his arms crossed at his chest and his eyes glancing this way and that in a near bewildered manner, yet a certainly troubled one.
Moments later Judy had returned, having left the others to retrieve clothing for them to wear. She had picked out old t-shirt from her husband's drawers and some old soccer shorts that had been rummaged up from some old uniform boxes. The air mattress beds were already sheeted, blanketed, and pillowed, and after explaining where the bathroom was to change and that anything in the kitchen was theirs to help themselves to the healer went to bed herself, well in need of rest.
They all took turns changing and washing themselves of blood, and one by one they finally chose where to sleep, Tala choosing the bed made closer to the window while Ray and Kai bedded together on the other mattress on the floor. Before laying down the red-head clocked off the light in the room, watching as the whole area fell into darkness, the curtains drawn close to keep moon light and sunlight out. A long fitful night of sleep was grasped by all of them, sleeping well into the day.
Kai was the first to wake, though against his own will as someone had stumbled into him and tripped upon him, landing with a grumbled protest clinging to the door handle to keep from falling. Pulling the blanket from his face Kai realized that Ray was still sleeping soundly next to him, and upon rolling over to look at whoever had tripped over him with blurred vision, still in need of more sleep. "Nn… Go back to bed Tala."
There was a muffled return of 'I am in bed' from across the room before Kai rapidly blinked his vision clear, staring up at the struggling to stay upright Declan. He barely looked well enough to be up, much less to be walking around on his own. Kai was on his feet in an instant, catching Declan just before he crumpled to the ground with a tired groan.
"What're you doing up? You need to be resting to gain back your energy." Picking up a protesting Declan as he spoke he was only held back as the other grabbed the door handle and gave a childish whine, still more or less half asleep himself it would seem. "Bathroom.." Was the only response Kai got from Declan, though it was whispered and half muffled by the way he was holding so desperate onto the doorknob.
"Right.. bathroom. Next time, wake someone if you are incapable of walking the whole distance. And no, you're not bothering us doing so, meaning don't bother to try telling me that you'd be bothering any of us just for help. We all need help at some point, even me." Quietly opening the door Kai carried Declan out of the room and down the hall, making sure to keep quiet so he didn't wake the others. He allowed Declan to use the bathroom alone after a hearty protest of privacy.
It was ten minutes later and after a good deal of knocking that Kai just entered the bathroom, dragging his fingers exasperatedly down his face when he found the other sleeping on the floor, toilet already flushed and a wet rag in his hand. With a low sigh Kai plucked the wet rag from the pliable hand, moving to finish the process of cleaning away the dried blood from Declan's face and shoulder before tossing the stained rag into the wastebasket and once more picking up the teen to carry him back to bed.
The others were still sleeping when he arrived back at the room, and after figuring that the sheets that Declan had been laying with needed changed still from the night before when he had been all bloody he opted to lay the goth next to Tala, figuring his adoptive brother wouldn't wake for a good deal of time, and that would keep him from some how managing to make it to the door again without waking someone else.
With a yawn Kai's stomach grumbled in protest of more sleep, giving a clear demand that it was to be fed before he went to sleep more. Pulling the covers over Declan so that the other wouldn't possibly get cold Kai checked on Ray before closing the bedroom door and heading through the hallway into the kitchen.
After looking about to get familiar with the room Kai spotted a note from Judy upon the refrigerator, smiling at her neat cursive writing. Pulling the note from the fridge he sat down to read it, rising an eyebrow at the several things listed in the whole note. He could just hear Judy going on about everything that was written down, and this made him smile faintly.
Kai,
I figured you'd be the first up, one way or another. Tala never seemed like a morning person to me, and Ray was simply exhausted. If Declan woke up before you I'd be utterly amazed, though I wouldn't put it past him just to get up for the simple things and not bother to ask for help.
Now, as I said last night you can help yourself to anything in the kitchen. I expect you to stay long enough to night that all four of you can have dinner, if awake, with my family. I want to make sure that all of you are well before I let you go off and start getting into things again. Also I've had Max and Tyson go around to get all of the assignments that you and the others have missed, and will miss for the rest of the week. Are you understanding me, Kai? You and the others are to rest for the rest of the week before going back to school and soccer practice. We have no game this week, so don't worry about thing Kenny and Bryan are handling things well in your absence.
I would appreciate if one of you would strip the bed sheets of the bed that Declan is sleeping on and replace them with clean ones from the hallway closet. Your mother and Rei's brother popped over this morning to drop by some clothes, and they are expecting to hear from all of you when you're all awake.
Also there are some files that I have picked out that you should probably read, Kai. I don't mind if the others read them as well, but I'd like it if you wouldn't let anyone else read them. I placed the files out on the countertop by the sink, but I insist that you eat something and go back to sleep before delving into the material.
I'm giving you these files to look over because they involve Biovolt and the government. There are dirty agents in the government, and they're looking for any reason at all to take Declan back into their custody and deliver him then to Biovolt. This means that no one will be finding out what has happened yesterday, no one.
Max and Tyson will be home after school to drop off the assignments, but I have told them to head over to Tyson's place until my husband and I get home tonight. They're quite curious, but I haven't even told them yet of what has happened. By the way, help yourselves to taking showers if you'd like, and if Declan is somehow awake coerce him to let someone, I don't care who, bathe him. He's in no condition to be standing up in the shower on his own, he'll be risking falling asleep or not being able to stand long enough on his own.
One last thing before you tear this letter up and throw it away. I've gotten funds from a very reliable friend to help out Declan in that enormous home of his. Locks are going to be put on every door and window, and a security system installed. Do please inform him that he'll have all the money he needs to fix that horrid dump up into a real home to be living in. Now go eat, and get back to bed.
Signed,
Judy
Though curious as to whom this friend was Kai wasn't about to go and call the woman at word and demanding answers, simply grateful for the amount of hospitality that was given to him and his friends. Instead he tore the note up and tossed it into the trashcan under the sink. He was already cooking a few eggs and toast when someone dropped themselves into one of the kitchen chairs with a long yawn.
"Mm… Smells good Kai, happen to make enough for me as well?" It was Ray, golden eyes groggy from just waking from the slumber. The smell of food had woken him up from his sleep, drawing him out from under the warm covers and into the kitchen where he found Kai making what seemed to be breakfast at noon.
"Yes, but I didn't think anyone would be waking up anytime soon." Turning to the toaster as the toast popped up Kai went through the task of buttering it and getting out two plates, giving two pieces of toast to each plate and putting a perfectly cooked sunny side up egg on each plate as well. Grabbing silverware he proceeded to walk across the kitchen and place one plate in front of Ray and the other on the table beside Ray, taking a seat next to the raven-haired teen.
"Which brings me to ask why you're even up. I wouldn't have woken up if I hadn't smelled food being cooked and my stomach starting to grumble." Nibbling on a piece of toast Ray proceeded to glance around the kitchen thoughtfully, taking in the whole room with a quiet tiredness.
"Declan, god knows how he was even awake before us, tripped over me trying to get to the bathroom on his own. Fell bak asleep on the bathroom floor, though." With a yawn Kai rose from his chair to get two glasses of juice from the refrigerator, grateful to at least have something in his stomach after not having breakfast, though they were eating breakfast at lunch time. It didn't strike him as odd because Tala did it often enough when he slept in on the weekends, though he tended to insist on having breakfast when he woke before having dinner/lunch later on in the day.
"Which brings to me to ask.. Why is Declan laying with Tala?" Golden eyes looked rather amused as the question was spoken, as it had been quite a surprise to see the two in the same bed willingly, albeit that they were both asleep and had no word in the matter. He was simply looking as to where Declan had disappeared to, and seeing if Tala was awake as well.
"I put him down there, figuring I'd change the sheets before I put him back into the bed. Only, I haven't gotten to it yet. Too hungry, it would seem." As Kai went on eating Ray gave a long pause before lightly chuckling to himself, as if he knew something that Kai did not. With an annoyed look Kai spoke up. "What's so funny?"
"I can see you putting him down there, but that still doesn't answer why they are sleeping with one another…curled up together and such." Waving his fork dismissively Ray went on eating, very well aware of the strange look he was receiving from Kai. As if the other didn't believe him he dumped his dirty plate and glass in the sink, moving to go take a look himself in the bedroom. With a shrug Ray was following after him, plate dumped in the sink while his mind was set on merely getting more sleep.
Even as Kai walked to the other side of the room to investigate Tala and Declan the Chinese male was already crawling back under the covers of the bed he had shared with Kai, mumbling something about going back to sleep whether or not Kai was going to join him. Yet the words went in one ear and out the other as Kai stared down at Tala hugging Declan to him in his sleep, and soon the duel-haired teen was smirking. Though there was probably going to be hell they both woke up it was nice just to see the two getting along, even if it was in their sleep.
Walking back over to the bed with Ray the Russian decided to wait with the sheet stripping, crawling under the covers after shutting the door to the room. Ray was already asleep, and with a smile Kai pulled the others back to his chest, holding him with one arm and resting his forehead against the back of Ray's head. It took but moments for Kai to fall back asleep, pleasantly happy now despite last night's occurrences.